Of Dragons and Men
by Silver Inklett
Summary: One thing, however, could never be changed; and that was that despite the language he spoke, the culture he learned, and the magic he practiced, the son of Metalicana and Voeda was still, in fact, human. [A "Make Your Nest and Lay In It" drabble]


_Disclaimer: I only own Voeda and Beir. I'm just borrowing the rest._

* * *

Introducing a human hatchling so suddenly to the nest hadn't gone over very well at first. Although the war was long over, a few of the dragons had feared that having a human living among them would draw out the few radicals that were left. Some worried that as the child grew and learned Dragon Slaying magic, he would turn on them and slaughter them all.

But as the years passed and the human boy became ingrained into their daily lives, the dragons stopped worrying. The human had started out so weak and feeble, clinging to Voeda's leg whenever he came out of the dwelling, and barely able to speak a word of Draconic. Now, he was more dragon than human in spirit, perfectly happy to wrestle with the other hatchlings and chase them around the large cave that worked as their main gathering place, his laughter ringing through the tunnels and the dragon's language rolling off his tongue with ease.

One thing, however, could never be changed; and that was that despite the language he spoke, the culture he learned, and the magic he practiced, the son of Metalicana and Voeda was still, in fact, _human._

"Mamaaaaa," Gajeel whined, scratching at the claws that carried him by the back of his worn shirt. "I don't wanna go into town!"

"You mean you don't want to take a bath," Voeda said with a small grin, nodding a greeting to some of the other female dragons as they passed, the others watching them with amusement as the little one squirmed and thrashed.

"I took a bath yesterday!"

"And today you were playing in the mud with the other hatchlings," she said patiently. "No child of mine will be heading into town smelling like dank earth and sweat." Gajeel huffed, crossing his arms as he hung limply from his mother's claws.

"I hate going into town," he grumbled, blowing a short piece of hair out of his face. "All the people look at me funny."

"Well, you are a strange child that only comes into town every few months," she said, slipping into their cave and shaking her head at the sleeping form of her mate, sprawled out on his back in a patch of sunlight and snoring loudly enough to shake the stalactites from the roof. "I'm more surprised no one's confronted you about where you come from yet," Voeda continued, heading towards the pool they used for bathing in the back half of the cave.

"The baker guy once asked where my parents were, but ain't no one-" Voeda coughed "- _but no one _has asked since." Gajeel found his footing easily when his mother set him down, sticking his tongue out at her as he loosened the leather thong that held most of his thick hair away from his eyes. His black hair was brushing past his shoulders now, and Voeda made a mental note to give him some extra money to get a haircut with.

"Well child, if that's the worst of it, then I don't see why you complain so much." She nudged him closer to the water, huffing when the smell of filth assaulted her sensitive nose. He stumbled closer to the edge, grumbling under his breath as he started to pull his shirt off. He stopped, looking at his mother as she regarded him patiently.

"Mama, turn around!" he said, his ears burning red. Voeda tilted her head, fighting a smile.

"Child, I've seen you bathe before," she reminded him playfully, and he puffed up, his cheeks burning.

"It's embarrassin'! Turn around!" Gajeel demanded, his voice cracking as it always did when he tried to raise his voice. It had been like that ever since Metalicana had started teaching him to roar, and it was one of the things that the large Iron dragon regretted the most, much to Voeda's amusement.

"Alright, alright!" Voeda said with a chuckle, turning her body so that she was facing the cave wall instead of the pool. She waited until she heard the rustle of his clothes being removed before flicking her tail, sending her son screaming into the water. Metalicana woke up with a jolt as Gajeel hit the water, looking around in a sleepy daze as Voeda laughed.

Gajeel came up, gasping for air, and made a small growling sound that most dragons would find adorable. "_Mama!_" he whined, and the water dragon turned her head over her shoulder, eyes closed as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Sorry, couldn't see you," she said teasingly, and he splashed water at her flank with a huff. She settled down with her back to the pool, listening as he ducked under the surface a few times before swimming to the edge. The smell of homemade soap from Gajeel's last visit to the town filled the cave as the 11-year-old began to bathe himself, and Metalicana grumbled as he walked towards them.

"Is it town day?" he asked, yawning loudly. His yawn cut off abruptly as a small stick of soap whacked him on the snout, accompanied by a cry of "DON'T COME BACK HERE, OLD MAN!" Voeda laughed as Metalicana growled at their son and the little boy growled back, clearly not intimidated by the large Drake. After a few moments, Metalicana groaned, sitting on his haunches and facing the cave entrance.

"You done throwing things, brat?"

"You done invading my privacy, Pops?"

Voeda rolled her eyes, grinning as Metalicana huffed loudly. "It's like I'm raising two hatchlings," she teased, and he glared at her. She simply smiled in response and he sighed, turning back towards the entrance.

"So, what does he need this time?" the large dragon asked, snatching a large piece of scrap metal and hunkering down as he started to gnaw on the edges.

"He's starting to grow out of his clothes, so he'll need a new pair," Voeda said, ticking points off on her claws. "He'll probably need some vegetables since we haven't been able to find any good ones around the nest, and he needs to get a hair cut."

"My hair is fine!" Gajeel protested, but Voeda simply moved her tail into the water, sending a spray of water at him.

"You look like a wild child," she said calmly, and grinned when Gajeel shoved her tail.

"I live in a cave with a bunch of dragons, Mama, forgive me if I don't look exactly civil." Metalicana snorted loudly, and this time she used her tail to smack his flank.

"Vo, if the brat wants to grow his hair out, I say let him," he said once his flank had stopped stinging. "Ain't like he's got anyone to impress." Where normally he would be loudly chiming in by now, their son was surprising quiet, and they both turned around to see him clutching the wall with his face half hidden under the water, his ears a bright red.

"Do you?" Metalicana asked, and Voeda didn't miss the teasing glint in his eyes. Gajeel sunk deeper under the water and the large dragon perked up, a wide grin revealing long fangs. "He does!" he cackled. "Our brat has a _crush, _Vo!"

"I do not!" Gajeel yelled, holding himself half out of the water. "You're crazy, old man!"

"Can't hide anything from me, brat," Metalicana said, grinning as he brought his head down to Gajeel's level. "Out with it, who are they?"

"Let the poor boy finish his bath," Voeda said with an exasperated grin, resting her head on the curve of her arm. But Metalicana didn't falter, rolling his shoulders eagerly as he directed all his focus on the quickly reddening Gajeel.

"I ain't saying nothing!" he grumbled, ducking back under the water before Voeda could remind him to fix his grammar. She turned to Metalicana while their son was under the water, raising one scaly brow at him.

"What?" he asked, and she sighed.

"Leave him alone," she said, grabbing a towel from the small pile of Gajeel's belongings and leaving it by the edge of the pool before nudging Metalicana back towards the front of the cave, ignoring his protests. Once they were by the entrance again, she sat back on her haunches and pinned him down with a look, making the larger dragon squirm.

"He's already cut off from other humans enough," she said in a low voice, hoping that Gajeel wouldn't be able to hear them. "Don't embarrass him so badly that he stops wanting any contact at all."

"I ain't doing-" she gave him a Look "- _I'm not _doing anything bad," he huffed. "'M just curious."

"Be nice," Voeda said, and he frowned.

"I'm nice," he protested, and she sighed, bumping her snout against his.

"Please, Metalicana," she murmured, eyes downcast. "I want him to have this." Metalicana looked at her for a few moments before nudging her cheek, pressing his forehead against hers.

"What's wrong, Vo?" he asked softly, and she sighed.

"Did we do the right thing, Ali?" she asked. "Taking him in and keeping him away from other humans, I mean." He frowned at her.

"I haven't heard him complain," he said, and she shook her head.

"Ali, I'm serious-"

"So am I, Vo," he said, huffing at her. "Gajeel's fine, alright? He's growing stronger every day, and he does fine when he goes into town. Would you have rather left him be when he found us?" The mere thought of leaving her son like he had been that night three years ago, shaking and cold and more than half-dead, drew a keening sound from deep within her chest, and Metalicana nodded. "We did good, Vo. Don't worry."

She sighed, nuzzling her head under his chin and drawing a purr from her mate. "You're right," she said with a small smile, and Metalicana grinned.

"Aren't I always?"

"Not even _close._"

"Mama, do you know where my good pants are?" Gajeel called from the back, and Voeda looked up to see him kneeling by his things, towel wrapped around his thin hips and hair hanging in his eyes before he pushed it back with it a huff.

"Should be in that pile," she replied, and he found them a few moments later with a triumphant laugh. It didn't take him much longer to finish getting dressed, and he was roughly rubbing his wet hair dry with the towel when he came in the room, his skin a light red from both the cold water and being scrubbed at with the rough soap. Metalicana scoffed, snatching the towel away between his teeth and ignoring his son's protests as he dropped it back on his head.

"Not so rough, brat. Your mom and I can't help you get the tangles out and then you _will_ have to get your hair cut," he warned, and Gajeel pouted at him before starting to carefully dry his hair. "Better," he rumbled with a nod, pointedly ignoring his mate's smile.

"So, who's going to town with me?" Gajeel asked, running his fingers through his hair once it was dry enough, pulling it all back into a low ponytail with a leather thong.

"I believe Beir offered to take you," Voeda said, and he groaned.

"She talks too much," he said, and Voeda smacked Metalicana when the larger dragon nodded in agreement.

"Well, she's the only one small enough to get close to the town," she said calmly, and Gajeel pouted. "Come now, child, it's only for the afternoon."

"Fine," he sighed. "But if she starts talkin' about how life was when she was a hatchling, I'm ditching her."

"You will do no such thing."

"Yes ma'am."

Voeda grinned, leaning down and nuzzling his cheek with her snout, sending him into giggles as he clung onto her. "See, now you smell much better!" she teased, and he grinned brightly at her. She felt a purr rumbling up in her chest, and wanted nothing more than to curl around him and cuddle with her sweet boy for the rest of the day. "Go get some coins from my hoard to take with you, alright?" she said, and Gajeel nodded, kissing her snout before running towards the back of the cave. She hummed happily, yelping as Metalicana tugged gently on her ear with a rakish grin.

"Still think he'd be better off without us?" he whispered, and she huffed.

"Oh, hush," she grumbled, a smile curling across her lips as her mate's laughter rumbled through her.

* * *

_Thanks to **pansariri/Lionus** for coming up with Voeda's nickname for Metalicana and for dealing with me while I freaked out over getting the Voeda fanart that inspired me to write this. There's going to be another chapter from Gajeel's point of view about his trip into town, but I don't know when that'll be posted seeing as I'm in the process of moving. _

_If you want to see the Voeda art done by the amazing artists **kat-the-goddess** and **moon-at-the-sky** (yOU TWO ARE THE BEST EVER), go to my tumblr and check 'em out! Also go read Lionus's fanfic "**Astound**", which is nothing but sweet Metalicana/Voeda AU goodness! Seriously, it's so great. Go check it out and give her love!_

* * *

_do-fairys-have-tails . tumblr . com_


End file.
